Bro Kenneth Yoder
MATTHEW 6:24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hale the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat. or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of fie air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his statute?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if god so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying. What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore not thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Before we study this passage I would like to say that this is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Many times throughout my life I have turned to this passage for strength and encouragement. Situations can arise in any of our lives in which we believe that we have to give so much time to material concerns that we cannot serve the Lord as we should. Our Lord has relieved us from the burden of worrying about material needs and concerns. He has promised us that if we would seek His kingdom first, then these material needs would be supplied to us.
You and I are involved in the necessary functions to sustain human life such as eating and drinking. We also need to be clothed and sheltered. In like manner we are necessarily involved in the economic structure of our society. The danger which we face is that we may become so involved in the legitimate concerns of this life, (things that we must necessarily do to exist) that we neglect our spiritual needs. Jesus taught that God is concerned about these kinds of needs and that He is willing to supply them if we will but put His concerns first.
Let’s study this passage together. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other: or else he will cling to the one and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon. I think you already realize it, but I want to remind you that no one can serve two masters at the same lime. The word "serve" doesn't mean "to be in the employment of" but "to be the slave of". The idea expressed is one of slavery, not employment. When Jesus used the word "master". He was not referring to an employer, but a slave owner. Jesus was saying that no one could serve two slave owners at the same time because it is impossible from the nature of the case.
The word "mammon" is not translated. The translators simply retained the original word in it's English form. "Mammon" is very similar in meaning to our English word "materialism". This word is translated in various translations as "money", "property" or "possessions". All of these translations are true but none of them express the whole meaning. Our word "materialism", as we use it today, is the best one in my opinion.
Jesus represented God and materialism as two slave owners and taught that we cannot serve both of them at the same time. Slavery requires a single master from the nature of such a relation. You may have two employers and you may be able to please both of them. Some people have held two jobs simultaneously, it may be possible to please two employers but you can't have two owners. Since no man can have two masters Jesus challenges us to make a choice between them. We must choose who is going to be the master of our life, whether we are going to serve God or whether we are going to serve the interest of materialism. If one chooses to serve materialism it will bring him into direct conflict with loyalty and devotion to God. You cannot serve both of them!
Beginning in verse 25 Jesus speaks as if he assumes that we have chosen to serve God. He said "therefore" which points to a conclusion. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? The idea which is expressed beginning in this verse and continuing to the end of the chapter is: if we select God as our master then we don't have to worry about our material needs. I consider that to be wonderful! We are relieved of worrying about what we are going to eat, drink or wear. I repeat, Jesus is assuming that we have made the right choice to serve God and since we have, He is stating that we should not worry about material needs.
The expression "take no thought is confusing to us today because in modern English it could mean, "don't even think about if. But actually this expression means, "don't worry" or "don't be anxious". Its meaning could be expressed as follows, "don't be filled with anxiety over material concerns". We should not be overly concerned to the point of anxiety about these things. It refers to a state of mind that is burdened with the physical and material needs to the point that that person cannot properly serve the Lord because he is so concerned and weighted down.
This doesn't rule out a proper concern for our material needs, but it forbids us to worry or fret over them. Being overly concerned results in the focus of our life being upon material things. The question is really one of priorities. An anxious concern for material needs can occupy the first place in our life. I've seen about as many people backslide over materialism as I have over anything else. I've seen them get caught up in legitimate cares and concerns to the place where they neglected their spiritual needs. You can lose your soul by doing that as well as people who get caught up in the sinful pleasures of the world. If the kingdom of God is given the priority then God has promised to supply these needs. We will study more about that later in this article.
Let us continue. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? God is the one who has given us lie and He has also given us a body. Is not life more valuable or a greater good than food? Is not the body greater than the clothes it wears? The obvious answer, of course, is yes. If God has already given us the greater gifts of life and a body, will He not provide us with the lesser things of food and clothing?
Jesus then gave some examples of God's care. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?'The concern of these two verses is food. Jesus called attention to the feeding of the wild birds. This saying testifies to God's providential care over His creation. God takes care of the wild birds of the forest and the field. Jesus reminds us that these birds don't sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather food into storage, yet God takes care of them everyday. Somebody said, "Brother Yoder, that is for Sunday School children". No, that is for us as God's children. Jesus' point is that since God feeds the birds everyday, we can trust Him to feed us too. Jesus asks, "Are you not worth more than the birds?" Oh my friend, you know that you are! We are worth more than any of the animal creation because we are created in the image of God. Furthermore, we are God's children. God has adopted us. He is our heavenly Father. Jesus said, your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?" What is Jesus trying to teach us?
Simply put, if God is this concerned about the birds don't you think that He is concerned about you and me as His children? The answer, of course, is yes.
Jesus is not forbidding us to work for our living but He is teaching us not to worry or fret. The birds actually spend a lot of energy in searching and gathering their food. The point is not that we are to just sit back and expect God to lay it in our laps. The point is this, that since God provides for the birds then we can expect Him to provide for you and me because we mean much more to God.
Notice in the 27th verse that worry can add nothing to your life. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? In fact it achieves nothing to worry over these matters. Therefore we ought to place our trust in the Lord.
in verse 28, Jesus goes on to the matter of clothing. And why take ye thought for raiment (clothing) ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon (the grandest of all the kings of ancient Israel) in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you. O ye of little faith? This is another example of God's care and concern over His creation. This argument like the preceding one argues from the lesser to the greater. If God takes care of the lesser (the lesser being the wild flowers of the field) then will he not clothe us, who are of much greater value? God clothes the wild flowers in a wonderful way and arrays them very beautifully.
They have a very short time of duration. These wild flowers were gathered up as weeds and used as fuel in their ovens to bake their bread. If God takes such care to beautify that which is of such a short duration will not He take care to clothe us who are eternal being?
Jesus chastises His disciples by calling them people of "little faith". I wonder what His assessment would be of us today. I wonder if we would be classified as people of little faith. How full of worry are you? How much fretting do you do? Are you a person of little faith? Jesus chastised these disciples for their failure to trust in God for their basic needs of life.
The root of all our worry and fretting is a lack of trust in God. Notice verse 31 now, Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Where withal shall we be clothed? These are examples of the kind of questions that reveal an anxious state of mind.
Sometimes we act as if we believe God has abandoned us or that God does not care for His own children. God has proven over and over again that He is trustworthy not only in the record of the Bible but in our own personal experience. Every one of God's children has received evidence of His special care. Jesus told us to "take no thought" meaning, don't worry, don't be anxiously careful, or don't be overly concerned about what we shall eat, what we shall drink or with what we shall be clothed.
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. We live in a world that is materialistic. It doesn't make much difference whether you live in a communist country or a capitalist country because they all have the same materialistic goals. The communist believe theirs is the right system to obtain the greatest amount of wealth for the most people. The capitalist likewise believe theirs is the best economic system, which will provide the most goods for the most people. Ours is a materialistic world on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The whole world is trying to get as much as they can in material wealth.
We in the United States are the most blessed nation on the face of the earth in terms of material wealth. The danger which arises from that fact is that it is easy for a person to set their heart on material things; this is the problem that arises from being blessed so much materially. The focus of our life may be on these things instead of serving God and building up His kingdom. This is what Jesus is warning us against. We are living in a world where the primary concern of almost everybody is to obtain whatever they can in a material way. You and I as Christians need material things to live of course but these goals cannot be our primary concern. We will become as Pagan as those around us if we do.
The questions found in verse 31 indicate a state of anxiety over how we are going to make a living (what we are going to eat and drink or be clothed with?) but in the light of God's care for us why should we as God's children worry about those things? Yes, there is a legitimate concern but the point is that such concerns should not be the primary concern. How can we in the light of God's care for us, worry and fret like the rest of the world? We often act like people who do not have a heavenly Father.
We act like men who don't know God and, by the way, that is what the word "Gentile" means here. When Jesus said, "for after all these things do the Gentiles seek". The word "Gentile" is not a racial distinction between Jew and Gentile but it is a spiritual distinction between men who know God and men who don't know God. What Jesus meant was that men who don't know God seek after these material things as their primary goal. This is what they live for. This is their motivation and their purpose in life.
The word translated "seek" is a very strong word in the original language and it means to earnestly seek or to earnestly pursue. This attitude of seeking the material things of life is essentially a Pagan attitude. It is the attitude of those who do not know God. Someone asks, "What do you mean by a Pagan attitude?" I am referring to the attitude of those who don't know God and therefore have no trust in God's providential care.
Notice what we (those who know God) are urged to seek, in verse 33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. This is the heart of what Jesus is teaching. This is the summary of what has proceeded. Jesus taught that we are to have a far greater goal than men who don't know God. We should seek to establish God's kingdom on earth.
Jesus taught us to pray, "thy kingdom come"\n Matthew 6:10. This means to pray that the kingdom may come into reality or that it may be realized among men. In plain language it means that our goal is to seek to bring others under God's rule. This goal is to be first. Material concerns must give way to this goal and purpose. Not only do we seek God's kingdom but "his righteousness" as well. This means we seek the kind of life which God requires of us. To define if further, it means a full submission to the will of God.
Therefore what we are to seek as our priority is twofold. First, we seek to see His kingdom come into reality in the sense of bringing people under the rule of God. Second, we seek to live in full submission to God's will to achieve the righteousness which He requires. Those two things must come before our material concerns. We must never allow our job, our home or any of our possessions to keep us from doing what we believe is the will of God.
Jesus' command to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" is followed by a wonderful promise. If you make this the focus of your life then all things shall be added unto you". I could relate some personal experiences to that promise, but I will refrain from doing so. God has certainly supplied my needs. If we make God's kingdom and His righteousness the priority of our life then God will assume the responsibility for all the material necessities of our life. Don't misunderstand me, that doesn’t mean that we won't have to work nor that we won't have any economic difficulties. It means we don't have to worry because God will assume the responsibility of our necessities of life. God knows what we need. God knows that we need food, clothing and a home.
A commitment on our part to find and do God's will is what this Scripture is requiring of us. A commitment that must come before material needs. If we pursue these goals as the priority of our life then the material needs will be taken care of by God. This promise of God to take care of our material needs should release us from the bondage of worry.
This is the reason we shouldn't worry about the future. Notice verse 34, Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil there of. Most of us have enough for today, but it isn't today we worry about. We worry about tomorrow. We worry about the shortages or deficiencies that we fear might come. We borrow trouble from tomorrow. Many of the wants we fear may come tomorrow will prove to be "paper tigers". They never really occur nor come to pass.
If you are God's child, God will take care of you! God can be trusted to supply any future needs. I don't know what tomorrow holds and I don't know what is around the next turn in the road of life and you don't either. Maybe some great and wonderful blessings are in store for me or maybe some terrible deprivations, I don't know. Our fretting and worrying about it betrays a lack of confidence and trust in God.
I don't know about you, but there are times when I wonder what is ahead and begin to imagine all kinds of terrible things, if we are not careful we can allow our imagination to run away with us to the place where we are worrying and fretting not over today's real problems but over tomorrow's imaginary problems.
There is of course a proper concern for material needs but the real issue is what is going to be the priority in our life. A primary concern with material needs is what characterizes men who don't know God and those of us who know the Lord are to be different. God knows what we have need of and He not only can but will provide for us these things. God asks us to trust Him.
I realize that all of you have material goals and you ought to have these goals. All of us have these kinds of hopes and desires but these things must be secondary to our goal and purpose of pleasing God.
Material concerns have captured the heart, the attention and the energies of most around us and we need God's help to live differently. My prayer is that we will not be people of little faith whom God must continually chastise because of our lack of confidence and trust in Him. May each of you who read this article make it your life's ambition and your primary concern to please God, no matter what comes nor what blessings or losses you may experience.
Many have violated the principles of God's word while seeking material things. Some of them attempt to explain God's requirements away. They dilute the claims of the Bible to the point that Scriptural principle becomes a meaningless thing. Others simply deny the claims of the Bible.
The burden of my heart is that material concerns will not become primary in your life. I realize that we must do what is necessary to live in this world and the Bible recognizes this, but never once does God justify an individual who puts his material concerns ahead of God's claims. Obedience to God is always our first obligation. We should never let any material concern keep us from doing God's will.
We should live our life holding every material thing very loosely and be willing to let go of them if obedience to God ever requires it. If we hold on to them tenaciously then those things will come between us and God. If we fail to give God the first place in our lives, we will inevitably turn to worldly and material ambitions. The final results of putting our energies and efforts in these things will be that we will become very worldly Christians. We will end up asking God to bless our worldliness. Our spiritual life will degrade to the level of simply asking God to bless our worldly ambitions instead of our life being a commitment to God's kingdom and submission to His righteousness.